Part II is on what happens in the new house, i.e. cleaning and unpacking.
Cleaning
I don't remember cleaning our first matrimonial home before moving in, despite moving in twice. First time, maybe I wasn't so OCD yet? Second time, I was heavily pregnant and my in-laws who lived there while we were in Evanston kept it clean.
For BP in 2018, it was minimal renovation since the new apartment came with lots of fittings already and the ID cleaned up very well. I might have assigned our helper to clean while I was working. For our current place, though, it was a nightmare.
First, we had a short timeline between handover and moving in. And while cleaning, we discovered things that needed rectifications so we had to repeat cleaning of some areas :(
Below in recommended order to prevent accumulation of more dust on already cleaned areas:
Windows
- Plenty of reno dust, especially between the windows and the grilles. Prepare a vacuum or blower. We found that our mini blower is stronger than our mini vacuum for stuck debris.
- For wet cleaning of the glass, prepare a squeegee, a spray bottle and plenty of rags for mopping up at the bottom following the squeegee - I always have rags, i.e. cut-ups of old clothes, for cleaning.
- Sliding windows trap more dirt than casement windows as some parts are just not accessible! For those facing outside the building, be careful when leaning out to clean the outside part of the glass! Actually, unless there's bird poo, no need to clean la :p
- Don't forget the windows in the toilets! Ours are louvre. Over time, heat from showers and dust combine to form a gross coating on the glass facing upwards... This needs a dry wipe before a wet mop.
Aircon units
- There may be dust on the units if they're not properly sealed.
- Give it a wipe for peace of mind. Would not be nice if it blows out visible dust when you first use it!
- If the installer did some testing, the aircon may feel damp. Turn on the fan and let it dry out.
Walls
- Yes, walls. Reno dust goes everywhere. Walls are not exempt from dust.
- Use Magiclean dry wipes - long enough to reach the top of walls in most HDB flats. I use those bright yellow refill packs from Japan Home - more economical.
- Freshly painted ceilings are usually fine but can still become dusty over time. Magiclean still the best bet
Carpentry, i.e. cabinets and wardrobes
- Leave the doors open to air the inside as much as possible before cleaning or the glue fumes will sting your eyes!
- The insides may look clean but they are not! My white dry wipe turned brown 🤮
- Given the size of wardrobes, it's more efficient to use Magiclean dry wipes, yes, with the paddle, macam sweeping. I then sprayed the wet wipes with some antibacterial general cleaning solution from Walch, no rinse required.
- For smaller shelves and drawers, I did the same but without the paddle.
- If you are paranoid like me, wet wipe with some anti-mould solution. I did this in between dry and wet wipes, and let it dry up first.
- Drawers can be removed to clean the hollow inside - there's usually a catch under or at the sides of the drawers.
- Don't forget the doors and ABS strips.
- Remember to air the cabinet again to make sure insides are all dry.
Besides built-in staff, we also have a lot of loose furniture. For those that we self-assembled, we cleaned the parts before assembling and then did a simple wipe-down.
Doors
- Like walls, doors are dusty too. Clean like walls.
- Wipe down the handles which are often touched.
Countertops etc
- Probably only the kitchen countertop is built in in most homes.
- Cleaned this multiple times as we kept putting random stuff on it during the cleaning and moving stages. Eventually for food use - and I roll dough on it - so I cleaned like mad using antibacterial wipes.
- Don't forget the backsplash and under the cabinets above the kitchen counter.
Floors
- Dry wipe then wet wipe.
- I even did two rounds of steam cleaning. I knew some parts would eventually be covered by furniture forever and ever so just cleaned max first.
Wet areas
- Now that the floors are clean, put out a floor mat outside the wet areas and get going :)
- Dry wipe walls and pipes etc to get rid of dust, then just spray water everywhere to clean!
- For the toilets, remember that reno staff would have used them. I sanitised them madly coz OCD.
- Leave the doors open to air dry completely.
Hinges
- This is more maintenance than cleaning.
- When everything is nice and clean, oil door and window hinges to prevent rust. Same can be done for cabinets and wardrobes.
- All you need is baby oil in a cup and an old paintbrush; I have many from the kid's painting days. Tissue is less efficient.
Unpacking
This should take place only after cleaning is all done.
For us, unpacking is a worse nightmare than packing. While we had the luxury of time to pack over days, we must unpack quickly in order to settle in and get rid of all those boxes.
It's not just a matter of moving things from boxes to cabinets. Nope. Coz I must wipe or wash everything before storing them. Except clothes - see Part I.
Wet wiping is fast enough as they can be dried quickly with a dry cloth. Washing the kitchen stuff took some time as I let them dry naturally...
Cleaning aside, the most important thing is to decide what goes where, i.e. organisation. Lucky we settled that during the renovation planning stage. We still had surprises, like we forgot about space for big suitcases! Eventually found them a home in a non-wardrobe tall cabinet in my room by removing the lowest shelf. We also had more toys than space for toys so some went into the kids' wardrobes.
My goal was to clear the moving boxes so some things were left in a temporary home like kitchen countertops - coz I didn't cook during those early days - as loose furniture didn't all come in before the move. When our new dining table arrive, our old one became a nice storage space for random stuff for a while...
It's not just a matter of moving things from boxes to cabinets. Nope. Coz I must wipe or wash everything before storing them. Except clothes - see Part I.
Wet wiping is fast enough as they can be dried quickly with a dry cloth. Washing the kitchen stuff took some time as I let them dry naturally...
Cleaning aside, the most important thing is to decide what goes where, i.e. organisation. Lucky we settled that during the renovation planning stage. We still had surprises, like we forgot about space for big suitcases! Eventually found them a home in a non-wardrobe tall cabinet in my room by removing the lowest shelf. We also had more toys than space for toys so some went into the kids' wardrobes.
My goal was to clear the moving boxes so some things were left in a temporary home like kitchen countertops - coz I didn't cook during those early days - as loose furniture didn't all come in before the move. When our new dining table arrive, our old one became a nice storage space for random stuff for a while...
But unpacking the boxes is the last major step. The detailed organisation can be tweaked slowly. Even today, I still move things about here and there...
So that's it. I hope not to move in the next 20 years at least!
